Customer Reviews

Rebellion in Brunei: The 1962 Revolt, Imperialism, Confrontation and Oil (International Library of Twent)

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Most of the British positions over the Brunei Rebellion and Konfontasi are well documented by previous authors - and Majid's new material do not shed any new light on British narratives of Konfrontasi that have been extensively documented elsewhere (i.e. Mackie 1974). While Harun Abdul Majid does criticize 'the victor's view' (mainly British) that plagues most of the writings on the period , his book becomes redundant given the absence of the most important material that have never been used on the conflict's historical analysis: Indonesian sources (bulks that can be read at the Indonesian National Archives, the Roeslan Abdulgani collection, military archives).

Majid takes a particularly harsh critique on Greg Poulgrain's 'The Genesis of Konfrontasi' (1998), which Majid accuses of being 'revisionist'. However, it is worth mentioning that Poulgrain did extensive interviews with Indonesian military actors (e.g. Suharjo Padmodiwirjo) and the last breed of Brunei's dissident exiles living in Indonesia. This is where Poulgrain's work differs in contrast to the majority of Anglo-perspective writings (which Majid's book is sadly part of). Majid has been uncritically accepting British views that Sukarno was poised to annex the Borneo states - while many writings by The Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, as well as numerous writings by Sukarno, Roeslan Abdulgani or Subandrio reveal that Indonesia was never ideologically ambitious nor militarily capable to do so (explaining why Sukarno never invaded, for example, East Timor). Majid also ignored sequential facts in analyzing why Sukarno was vehemently against the Malaysia project. The PRRI / Permesta rebellion in Indonesia (which Malaya and Singapore covertly supported) was a major evidence (convincingly presented by Poulgrain) which sustained Indonesia's longtime suspicions over British designs over Malaya and Borneo. In addition, the internal social and political dynamics within Brunei and Sarawak are critically under-represented (e.g. no analysis on the mass popularity of Azhari & the PRB in Brunei, Ahmad Zaidi and the CCO in Sarawak, the failings of the Cobbold Commission)

It is relatively shocking how much Majid's analysis is trapped within the narratives of British actors (e.g. General Walker). I was hoping that Majid would come forward with more local sources that may contribute to a more nuanced and holistic view of the Konfrontasi itself. He regrettably failed on this aspect.